Hi everyone,
I'll shortly be taking the plunge and heading out to Osaka. I was hoping that the community could enlighten me, as to the areas I could feasibly live in on a teachers salary(taking this as no more than 220,000 yen/pm).
Thanks

Hi everyone,
I'll shortly be taking the plunge and heading out to Osaka. I was hoping that the community could enlighten me, as to the areas I could feasibly live in on a teachers salary(taking this as no more than 220,000 yen/pm).
Thanks

The suburbs in the south are cheaper and you can get to the city in 30 mins by JR or Nankai.

There are tons of cheap places in Osaka. The best advice is to find a place to live that is close to your work. One of my coworkers works at a uni that is quite far from his apartment - he has to be up at 5:30 to get there in time for his first class (at 9:30).

You can rather find cheap places within a 20 minute radius of pretty much anywhere in Kansai. They might not be the best, but you can do it.

Hi Everyone, thanks for the replies. I should have added in my first post, that I'm going out to look for work in Osaka (nothing lined up from here), and the wage was offered as an estimate of somewhere close to what I'll be after. That said, would it affect anybody's recommendation? Also, as I wouldn't have a job, I wouldn't mind living in a slightly livelier neighbourhood until I secure a job.

What Almond_Lover posted is quite true. But I wouldn't bother living so far down in the south (or so far away from Osaka city in any direction for that matter.) 30 minutes away by train is OK if you're traveling there for work. But if you're going into the city for a fun night out on a Saturday, 30 minutes isn't ideal. It would make for a really expensive taxi ride home for you. Waiting for the first train can suck sometimes. And if your a person that likes to go out clubbing and bring home the occasional friend, living that far away isn't ideal.

Living in Osaka City and being relatively close to all the fun and excitement that Osaka has to offer is possible on a budget of 220 000 yen per month. Although, I would recommend picking up a private student or two to help augment your salary--especially if you've been here for more than a year and have to pay high National Health Insurance payments and city taxes.

You can live in places like Juso, Tenjinbashisuji 6-chome (Tenroku), Bentencho, Nipponbashi, Nakatsu, Tsuruhashi, and even Kyobashi for around 50 000-65 000 yen per month. You can find some 10-15 year old 1K apartments with little to no upfront costs in those areas. These would be considered pretty small (about 15-25 sq. meters) by western standards and most will have nothing more than a kitchenette consisting of a tiny fridge and single stove-top burner. I rarely cook so this isn't a problem for me.

I personally would rather pay more to live closer to work and have a shorter commute than live in a bigger apartment. But everyone is has different preferences, wants, needs, etc. Since you don't have a job yet I'm gonna give you more general information.

If you're gonna be working in north Osaka near a Hankyu station then Juso would be a great place. It's not the cleanest neighbourhood but it has lots of great restaurants, supermarkets, amenities, and shops. There's a Don Quixote store there and the Yodogawa riverside is always close-by for a cool, relaxing beer on a warm summer evening. It's a nice bit of greenery in a a big grey metropolis. There's spots with great views of The Umeda Sky building and the Yodogawa Fireworks Festival is held there. There are a few baseball diamonds and some grassy areas suitable for kicking around a soccer ball or tossing around a football. No outside basketball courts, unfortunately. Osaka (unlike Seoul) doesn't have any outside basketball courts that are free for the public to use AFAIK. If anyone knows of any I'm all ears.

The many seedy pink establishments may turn a lot people off of Juso, but I never had any problem with those kinds of businesses. You can bike to Umeda (the north downtown district) in 10-15 minutes and to Shinsaibashi(Shinsaibashi and Namba are the south downtown districts) in about 35-40 minutes. The Nishi nakajima Minamigata subway station is a 10 minute bike ride from Juso so you have access to the Midosuji subway line. The Midosuji is the main subway line in Osaka. Juso is one of the main stations for Hankyu trains--all trains heading to Umeda or coming from Umeda stop at Juso. You can go to Kobe, Takarazuka, Kyoto, Minoo really easily.

Tenroku is another place that's often overlooked by a lot of people. It's also not the cleanest place but it has tons of little shops and restaurants in and around the very long Tenjinbashi shopping arcade. You can find almost anything you need in the shopping arcade. Tenroku is extremely well-situated transit-wise. It is connected to the Hankyu Kyoto line and both the Sakaisuji and Tanimachi subway lines. Rents and upfront costs are a little higher than Juso but 60 000yen/month 1K apartments with no upfront costs can definitely be found. Temma station on the very convenient JR Osaka Loop Line is about 10 minutes south of Tenroku station. Apartments between Tenroku and Temma stations are obviously more expensive. There are a few smaller grocery stores close to Tenroku and a Life Supermarket about 5 minutes away by bike.

Nakatsu is on the other side of the river from Juso and closer to Umeda. You can bike to Umeda in about 5 minutes and to Shinsaibashi in about 30. There aren't quite as many restaurants and supermarkets in Nakatsu, but it's still a nice place to live. Nakatsu is fairly well-situated in that it's right on the Midosuji line and the Hankyu Kobe and Takarazuka lines. It's not a main station so only local trains stop there, however. Apartments are slightly more expensive than Tenroku and almost all require some upfront costs.

Daikokucho is an area just south of Namba. It used to be a little grittier and run-down but has become nicer and a little pricier in the past few years as newer buildings have been built and wealthier residents have increased in number. There are some good cheap restaurants around. There is a Tamade Supermarket nearby as well as a really big Life Supermarket (built a few years ago.) A large Nitori furniture store is a 5 minute bike ride away. Shinsaibashi/Namba are 15-20minutes away by foot and about 5-7 minutes away by bike. Daikokucho is right on both the Midosuji and Yotsubashi subway lines. And the trains depart on the same platform so transferring is a breeze! You can bike to Shin-Imamiya station in about 5 minutes if you need access to the JR line. Just exercise due caution in and around Shin-Imamiya station, though. The area has a large homeless population is considered one the most dangerous areas in Osaka. Apartments are a little pricier than they used to be but decent 1K apartments for 50 000-60 000 yen per month with no upfront costs can still be found. I would live in Daikokucho if I had a job in southern Osaka.

Bentencho and Nippombashi deserve honorable mentions but I'm getting too lazy to write much more about places in Osaka. If you want me to, I'll tell you what I know and what I've heard about those areas. I've lived in Bentencho before so I know a lot about the area.

deadzenpoet has given good advice about basing yourself somewhere for a month or two while you look for work. Umeda and Namba are great places to be based in. Umeda is expensive for sure to live in long-term, but Namba can be affordable if you don't mind living in an older apartment or don't mind living with someone else.

I hope this will be of use to you. If you have more questions, feel free to ask or PM me. That goes for the rest of you lurkers out there, too!

Thanks everyone, your replies have been extremely helpful and I am leaning towards Umeda, special thanks to Ryu Hayabusa -

I have a few other questions, if anyone has the time thanks in advance:

1.) Is Tokyo the sort of place that I can just rock up to and get an affordable hotel room for 1-2 nights without pre-booking (Looking at a max of (Ģ70/120Dollars per night)?
2.)Is it worth paying the 14,000 yen fee to travel to Osaka from Tokyo by bullet train(I would like to travel on them for the experience, but if there's a much cheaper alternative, I would obviously try and take that instead ?
3.)I've heard that there is a rail ticket/pass that you can only buy outside of Japan which works out cheaper in the long run. Does anyone know what I'm talking about or have I made it up? (quite possible!)
Thanks again, and if anyone is located on the East Coast of America, I hope your safe!

1. Always make reservations for hotels in Tokyo. You may not need them, but you don't want to be caught with nowhere to stay. I'd like to recommend Vista Kamata. It's not the fanciest digs, but it's close to the major rail circuits in Tokyo and relatively cheap ($75/night). Plus, it's a business hotel, so the staff really gets a kick out of tourists.

2. It is absolutely worth the money for the bullet train, imo. Your ride will be comfortable, fast, and you won't have to lug your bags between subways and different local rail lines. By bullet train, you're looking at about 2 hours. By local rail? A lot longer.

3. There is a rail pass meant for tourists. It was $500 last I checked and only good for two weeks. I think it's good for all things JR, but to be honest, you may have to do some additional research and find out.

Have you considered airbnb.com? I definitely think itīs better booking something in advance. Do you really want to be walking around 5 ho(s)tels with all your luggage seeing if there are any rooms available?

I stayed in Asakusa when I went to Tokyo and I staeyed in a capsule hotel. I just checked the website and it says it is only 2500 yen the night that means only about 25 dollars or more or less. It was actually quite nice and really a very special Japanese experience.

Also, I have taken the night bus from Tokyo and I know it sounds like it might be not so nice actually the night bus was really comfortable with three large seats across the bus instead of four. Really nice way to travel.